In U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 09/619,358 and 09/619,357, of which this application is a continuation in part, Applicant disclosed the use of acoustic waves to treat circulatory disorders and body tissue disease. The present application is directed to the use of acoustic waves to treat certain other medical disorders, including specifically diabetes and anemia, that are manifested in the blood.
Both diabetes and anemia produce an abnormal blood condition. The term diabetes mellitus refers generally to a group of disorders that lead to an elevation of glucose in the blood. The two major types of diabetes mellitus are type I diabetes and type II diabetes. Type I diabetes commonly develops in people younger than age 20, and is therefore sometimes known as juvenile diabetes. In type I diabetes, there is an absolute deficiency of insulin, which is needed to aid the entry of glucose into body cells. Regular injections of insulin are required to prevent death.
Type II diabetes is far more common than type I, and represents about 90% of all diabetes cases. Sometimes referred to as adult onset diabetes, it occurs most often in people who are over the age of 40 and are overweight. Unlike with type I diabetes, the high glucose levels in the blood of a person suffering from type II diabetes can usually be controlled by diet, exercise, and weight loss—though sometimes use of an antidiabetic drug is needed. In some cases, insulin injections are required.
Diabetes can lead to a number of different complications. These include blindness due to diabetic retinopathy (each year in the United States, 12,000 to 24,000 people lose their sight because of diabetes); kidney disease due to diabetic nephropathy (10 to 21% of all people with diabetes develop kidney disease, sometimes requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant); heart disease and stroke (diabetes sufferers are 2 to 4 times more likely to have heart disease or to suffer a stroke); nerve disease and amputations (about 60-70% of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of diabetic nerve damage, which can lead to the need for lower limb amputations); and impotence (affecting approximately 13% of men with type I diabetes and 8% of men with type II diabetes).
Anemia generally refers to a condition in which the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood is reduced, and is characterized either by reduced numbers of red blood cells or a decreased amount of hemoglobin in the blood. Anemia leads to fatigue and intolerance to cold. There are a number of different kinds of anemia, including iron-deficiency anemia, pernicious anemia, hemorrhagic anemia, hemolytic anemia, aplastic anemia, and sickle-cell anemia. Iron-deficiency anemia is the most common, and is caused by inadequate absorption of excessive loss of iron. Women are the most frequent sufferers from iron-deficiency anemia.
Anemia treatments depend on the kind of anemia from which the patient suffers, and range from the use of iron supplements to blood transfusions, and even to bone marrow transplants.
It should be clear then that each of these disorders presents a problem to those who are afflicted, and that safe and effective treatments are desirable. With respect to treatment methods, non-invasive, non-surgical techniques are generally preferred to surgery. Moreover, safe non-chemical treatments are generally preferred to the use of medications, which can have foreseen or unforeseen side-effects on the body. The present invention is directed to a treatment for each of these disorders—a treatment that is non-invasive, non-surgical, and non-chemical.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,942, issued to applicant herein, a low frequency electroacoustic transducer (the “Cassone Transducer”) is disclosed. According to U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,942, the Cassone Transducer could be used to efficiently disperse emulsions, chemical and other wastes, and the like for recycling and environmental enhancement. The Patent does not disclose the use of the Cassone Transducer for medical purposes. It is to that use that the current invention is directed.